RIP the RFP

Let's be honest, nobody loves the RFP.
It served its purpose for years, humbly providing the neat little boxes into which hungry agencies could paste their stock answers.
Gather them all up and you can easily compare like-for-like.
But the world isn't really like that.
You can't compare apples with apples, when you're dealing with grapefruits and kumquats.
Stick with me, it's just a fruit metaphor.
My point is - agencies are diversifying, even within relatively narrow specialist fields.
There's no level playing field.
Thankfully, smart clients are moving towards a smarter version of the RFP.
Competitive advantage is gained by the processes you share and the questions you ask.
The dreaded spreadsheet is detached from the creative.
And there's a quick-fire round that's all about the money.
OK, to some that will still be the most important round.
But at least things are moving in the right direction.
Forget the boilerplate organograms.
We're moving to a more fluid set-up.
And I, for one, couldn't be happier.
Now, fingers on the buzzers...